Originally published in 1971, Hal Higdon’s On the Run from Dogs and People has remained continuously in print for four decades. Truly a cult classic, it describes a running world that existed before Frank Shorter’s Olympic marathon victory ignited the first running boom. ORDP chronicles the 1960s, an era when Higdon was one of America’s top distance runners. Higdon first ran the Boston Marathon in 1959, when only 150 started. By the end of the next decade, the sponsoring Boston Athletic Association had to enact qualifying standards to limit the field to 1,000 (they thought) and to manage those wanting to run, many of them inspired by Higdon’s articles and iconic book. ORDP is part memoir and part compilation of articles he wrote about running for Sports Illustrated, True Magazine, Sport Magazine, The New York Times Magazine and other publications willing to take a chance that its readers would care about the crazies they saw running the roads and byways of America. This was in the era before Runner’s World; in fact, Higdon’s book motivated the movement that made Runner’s World possible. A funny stroll at a quick step down Memory Lane, a book that any runner or wannabe runner can take to heart.
“I remember reading On the Run from Dogs and People when I was in high school. The book was a great influence on my decision to take running seriously and to commit myself to the Hammond High program. Amazing that it still speaks to runners today.”
--Carey Pinkowski, director, Bank of America Chicago Marathon
“I remember reading On the Run from Dogs and People when I was in high school. The book was a great influence on my decision to take running seriously and to commit myself to the Hammond High program. Amazing that it still speaks to runners today.”
--Carey Pinkowski, director, Bank of America Chicago Marathon
